My airline now operates long range flights (747-400 and A-340)... Of course, these airplanes were designed to be flown by 2 pilots, no F/E required... But the designers of the airplanes failed to realise that you cannot dispatch an airplane on a 14 hrs long sector... with 2 pilots, this due to duty and flight time limitations... with our regulations (we use rules similar to US/FAR 121), a 2 pilot crew is limited to 8 hrs flight time, and 12 hrs duty time.
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Occasionally, a A-340 might operate a short sector, where there would be no flight time or duty time problem, but if, after a night stop, that crew is assigned to a long sector, requiring 3 pilots, we, at the end, dispatch all flights with the 3 pilot crew complement, regardless how short/long sectors are, same for the 747-400... We only have one base, Buenos Aires, and if there was a need to vary crew complements in view of sectors, what we would gain in 2 pilot only crews, would be lost in hotel costs and 3rd pilots deadheading here or there. Crew schedulers are not rocket scientists, it would be a nightmare of logistics to vary crew complements, in function of various sectors to be flown. Remember, we can operate our 747-200s with our minimum crew up to 12 hrs flights and 16 hrs duty...
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On other postings, in Pprune, there are numerous questions about the adequacy of airline training and qualifications of new hires. Well, I started my airline career with PanAm as a 727 F/E, then became 707 F/E before upgrading to a "window seat", as 727 F/O... it was excellent training in itself, to sit "sideways" a few months, before becoming a F/O... I hope that the new generation of pilots will get that exposure when selected as 3rd pilot for long range airplanes of this new century.
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I admit that having a "3 pilot" requirement for 737s was ridiculous, as United, Western and Frontier did it in the early 1970s... Both 737s and DC9s were designed for 2 pilots, and flew short sectors.
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Last word here. I asked a friend in the crew planning department, about the hourly cost factored for cockpit crew of a 747-200, compared to 747-400... The next day, he answered me that the hourly crew cost of the 747-400 is assumed to be
US$ 85.oo higher, for the 747-400. I am so happy that my airline
saved us from bankruptcy by selecting the 747-400. I would also like to know the banking interests paid to finance 4 airplanes of $35 millions each, versus the costs of selecting 4 of $10 millions each... QED...
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Happy contrails